The Gift
by FanOfHan
Summary: Second in the 'Forgotten Time' trilogy. Han's past becomes clearer and he is given a gift he never thought he'd receive


Author's Note.

I recently received an interesting review for a piece I did on Blade Runner called 'Part Of The Business.' It said:

'Bitch'.

No more, no less.

While I have no objection to constructive criticism, or even abuse, if you must, I ask that in future, whoever you are, you sign your name. Otherwise it's just a case of pots and kettles.

Thank You.

-----------------

_Part two of the_ **Forgotten Time **_trilogy._

--

Corellia wasn't all that bad really. It wasn't as though a mission here was going to be hell. Unlike the pursuit of the Killik Twilight on Tatooine. _That_ had been hell.

No, this was going to be a cinch in comparison. All they were here to do was look up some files in the archives. True, they were a little difficult to locate, which was probably why she and her brother had been asked to find them, and, yes, no-one had looked at them for years. It was also a point of fact that several files they were not deliberately looking for cropped up. But they had the whole library to themselves – all six Ks –and she was confident all files would eventually be found.

They could see straight away the names of the files for, as they were called onto the small vid screens on the terminals, they were also projected onto the vast screens that hung before them. They had already found 'Derin, Leher's' file and 'Jonas, Kreeba's'. She was busy trying to find 'Montra, Feros' and 'Quiri, Ylena' while her brother scoured the ancient Corellian archives for 'Sertis, Bein' and 'Urvulua, Eielovir'. Who would have thought that finding six files between them would still take them all day. And with the Force to guide them, too.

Her husband, absurd though it seemed, was uninterested and had stayed at their rented apartment to complete some work.

"Leia?"

Princess Leia Organa-Solo could tell even before her brother questioned her that he had found something of interest.

"What is it?" she asked, her curiosity rising with his.

"It's just another file. I thought maybe you should see the name."

Leia frowned, left her terminal and looked at the vid screen displayed before her.

Before her, in a file that showed it had been deeply imbedded, was one name. It read,

'SOLO'.

One file. It was probably sheer coincidence. Han had told her many times before that he himself had searched these very archives for any trace of his true heritage and had found little more than a sadistic cousin and an estranged aunt. But something inside of her, be it Force provoked or instinct, told her to look further.

"What do you think?" Luke asked.

"Well," she said after a long silence. "Let's try and open it before we get our hopes up."

Luke nodded and punched the 'Access File' button thinking that, like every other file they had encountered, it would open and allow them to view it. They were both, thus, quite surprised when a small warning flashed onto the screen. They both looked up at the big screen to make sure they were reading properly. But, clear as day, the little flashing, beeping message said,

'ACCESS DENIED: DNA LOCK;

DNA REQUIRED FOR ACCESS.'

Leia looked at Luke and Luke looked at Leia.

She shrugged and stretched forward, pressing her thumb to the pad by the terminal. But another message beeped up and winked defiantly.

'DNA INCONSISTENT WITH "SOLO". ACCESS STILL DENIED.'

"Now what?" Leia asked, slightly amused (though she did not show it) that the sign read 'access _still_ denied.' Typically Corellian.

"I think," said Luke slowly, "that just on the off chance… We ought to find some 'Solo' DNA."

--

Han Solo, bent over his datapad, hadn't even noticed his wife come in. It was only when Chewbacca roared his greeting that Han jumped so high he almost brought the ceiling down and suddenly registered Leia's presence.

"Hi, Sweetheart," he said, a smile lighting his face.

It was a warm smile, not his usual cocky grin, and it told her he had been working very hard.

She smiled in return and stepped eagerly into his embrace as his long arms surrounded her and he drew her close, kissing her lightly.

"Find everyone?"

"Actually, no," she said, moving away again, much to Han's puzzlement.

"Well, uh, if you don't mind me askin', Leia, what're you doin' here?"

She smiled.

"We found something else, Han. Something that might interest you."

"Oh?" he asked, brow furrowing as he took his seat again and leant forward. "What?"

"I don't want to get your hopes up…"

"Leia-"

"No, Han, just put on a decent jacket and follow me."

He shook his head and laughed.

"Sweetheart, I-"

"I know, I _know_, you're busy," she said, walking over and stroking his face. "But this could be important."

He narrowed his eyes.

"To whom?"

She slapped at him.

"You, Nerfherder. I wouldn't ask you along if it weren't."

"I wonder sometimes," he said, a wry grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Come on," she insisted. "Good jacket, sort your hair, let's get going."

Han glanced at Chewie, who wuffled amusedly.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, Fuzzball."

Leia smiled to herself at the memory of the med bay on Hoth. The smile was tinged with sadness as she remembered the horrific events that followed. But these thoughts were soon dispelled as she watched her husband hopping about on one foot trying to pull on his boot.

When he finally put that foot down and stood a moment, looking for his other boot, she put her hands on her hips.

"Honestly, Solo," she said, turning and old phrase he often used back on him. "How long do you have to take to get ready?"

--

"I still think this is a lousy idea."

Standing next to him in the elevator, Leia glanced at him as she straightened his jacket.

"Han, I'm trying to do something nice for you. Can't you at least act like you're grateful?"

Han brushed her hand away and she started tending to her hair.

"I _am_ grateful, sweetheart," he answered, an amused grin tugging at his mouth as she turned to pull his collar taut. "I just don't like surprises."

Leia smoothed the wrinkles from her dress.

"Well you'll like this one. I'm almost positive."

Han cocked an eyebrow.

"Almost?"

"Yes," she nodded, running the tip of her finger along the edge of her lip to tidy up her lipstick.

He growled softly and she turned to look at him.

"What?" she said, her expression completely bewildered.

He did it again, widening his eyes at her and thrusting his head forward, leering.

"Han," she laughed. "What are you doing?"

Again, he made a noise that could only be considered a growl but instead of waiting for a reaction, he elongated that growl, snatched out and yanked her into his arms. She managed a gasp before he closed his mouth over hers and the hand that she had raised to fight him off fell limply to her side before lifting again to twine with the other about his neck as his arms wrapped around her waist. Immediately they both found themselves more than a little warm and she pushed her fingers into his dark hair before he cradled his head in her hands. One of his legs found its way between hers and she curled her calf behind his, drawing him closer and giving them both friction.

There was a sudden ping and they both pulled apart immediately as the elevator doors swooshed open, smoothing hair and clothes. Leia had time to gape at Han. His hair stuck up all over the place, there was lipstick smeared over his lips and halfway across his cheek and there were fresh wrinkles in his clothes. And the smug grin on his handsome face made her want to hit him and simultaneously press the button for the top floor. Then she caught her reflection in the mirrored walls and saw that she looked uncannily similar.

"Well, Princess," Han said, stepping forward. "Shall we?"

She began furiously trying to sort her now unruly hair, damning her husband for his good looks and his appealing…well, everything.

"Where do we start?"

"That depends," she said, in no mood to be co-operative now.

"Oh, come on, Leia," he crooned. "It was just a little fun."

"Mmm," she said, arms crossed.

"Look," he soothed, "I'm sorry, alright? I didn't mean to mess up your hair."

She took a step toward him and narrowed her eyes.

"It's just as well," she said, voice dangerously soft, "that I love you."

He grinned as she turned on her heel.

"Now come on or Luke'll've gone home!"

Enjoying watching her walk away for a moment, Han came to his senses and quickly followed her. He didn't bother to straighten his own clothes. Why should he? They were only going to get creased again if he had anything to do with it…

--

Luke looked up as he heard the door open, but went back to his work.

"Still got it?" Leia called, hoping her brother wouldn't notice her state of dress.

"Of course," he replied, smiling.

He was a Jedi. She should have known he wouldn't miss it.

"Did you have any trouble?"

"No," a smooth baritone answered. "She was good as gold, as always."

Luke allowed himself another amused glance up as his brother-in-law slipped an arm about Leia's waist and hauled her close. She giggled at him and, as he wrapped both arms around her, she lent back into him and sighed.

"Well?" Luke asked.

She turned her head to look at Han where he stood behind her.

"Han," she said softly. "We wanted you to take a look at this."

He raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Come over here and take a look at this," said Luke.

Han frowned.

"Aren't either of you gonna tell me?"

Luke watched Leia closely as she bit her lip, and he made the decision for her.

"Han, we found an embedded file and we can't open it."

Han cocked his head.

"What makes you think _I _can open it?"

Luke brought up the file again and tried to access it. Han watched the screen overhead as the 'ACCESS DENIED' sign came up. Han nodded.

"You want me to hack into a DNA locked file?"

"Han, we don't want you to hack into it."

"Well then what-"

"Han," Leia soothed, touching her hand to his arm. "We want to try your DNA."

"Mine?" Han said, eyebrows shooting up so high they almost disappeared into his hair. "Why?"

"Read the name, Han," Luke said softly.

Han frowned and did as he was asked, and then his eyes widened.

"No," he said, shaking his head. "It's probably nothing to do with me. I mean, how may Corellians are there archived in here, huh?"

"Worth a shot though, isn't it?" Leia asked.

Han stared at her for a moment, then looked at Luke. Luke shrugged.

"Well," Han sighed. "I ain't got nothin' to loose."

He reached forward and pressed his thumb to the pad, as Leia had done. But this time, instead of informing them they were still denied access, another message came up:

'PLEASE CONFIRM DNA.'

Han paused, brow furrowed, eyes dark. 'Confirm.' This meant that the file was indeed keyed to _his_ DNA.

"Han?" Leia whispered, walking up to him and taking his arm.

He took a deep breath.

"I…I, uh…"

He looked at her.

"I've gone my whole life not knowing, Leia," he said softly. "I don't know if I'm ready for this. I'm not even sure if I want to know."

There was a long pause.

"We're right here, Han. We're gonna stay here."

Still he did not move.

"Sweetheart," she said, "whatever decision you make, you know we'll stand by you. Always."

He looked at her, then at Luke, then at her again. Then he took a deep breath. And touched the pad again.

'DNA CONFIRMED: SOLO, HAN. ACCESS GRANTED.'

The next thing that came up on screen was a few lines of text. It read.

'The Following Information Is Classified As Restricted To Anyone But 'Solo' And Should Therefore Not Be Viewed By Any Other.'

Han ignored it and scrolled down. Leia and Luke watched the overhead screen but Han stared intently at the small one. There were dates and times but none of them seemed important.

"Oh," Han whispered suddenly.

They both looked at him and then set about reading the text on the screen

Han had stopped the page, at the bottom of which was a small chunk of text, and he was staring at it.

'…Married for two years when his wife discovered she was with child. Happy that at last their endeavor for a child had succeeded, they were the subject of the local media for some time. And, when eventually his wife went into labor, the entire city, and most of the rest of the world, were praying for the safety of her and her child.

Twelve hours after going into labor, his wife gave birth their first and only baby, a healthy boy whom they then named…"

Leia looked at Luke and Luke looked at Leia.

"Han," she said softly, squeezing his forearm.

He jumped and looked at her.

"Aren't you going to scroll down?"

He looked back at the screen, at her again, and then at the screen again.

"I…I…Yeah…"

His hand hovered over the button but, for a moment, he couldn't bring himself to put it down.

Then he did something entirely unexpected.

He closed the window and took a step back.

"No," he said, closing his eyes and shaking his head. "No, I can't."

"Han-"

"What if it's not?" he said. "What if it's bad? What if it's not me? Or if…If…What if it _is_ me? What if it is?"

He looked at her, eyes wide, his face the epitome of desperation.

"Leia, what do I do?"

She reached up and touched his face.

"It's your decision."

He shook his head.

"No, what do I do? Tell me."

She looked at her brother and Han did too.

"Please?" he whispered.

"Han," Luke said gently. "You must make this decision for yourself. No-one can make it for you."

He held Luke's gaze for a moment and then returned to the soft glow of the vid screen. Leia took his hand, offering him silent support, and found that he was trembling.

He reached out again and reopened the window, finding the place he had been at before. Again he hesitated. She squeezed his hand and rested her free hand on his arm.

"Go on," she murmured, as close to his ear as she could get.

For once, grateful to be told what to do, he touched the small pad at the side of the keypad and gasped softly when the text moved up.

'…Han, after his father…'

Han released the breath he had been holding in a long, shuddering sigh and Leia reached up to smooth her hand along his cheek.

As Han continued to read the text, his sadness seemed to transform into something much darker. The sadness remained, stronger than ever, but now there was anger there, too.

'… who became, and remained, the light of their life until, two years later their lives were, it is thought, brought to a tragic end when they were apparently murdered in the Massacre at Coronet. He was executed immediately and his wife was killed trying to protect their child. Having never been found, it is assumed that the young Han was either murdered along with his family and burned in the furnaces like countless others, although there is much evidence to suggest that the family escaped.'

Han stared mutely at the screen, eyes liquid, and tried to breathe steadily. Instead, he only managed short gasps. Leia herself was near tears and Luke was looking extremely worried. They could both feel the magnitude of the shock that Han was feeling as it radiated from him.

'Below is a holograph of the family.'

Slowly, with trembling fingers and baited breath, he reached out again.

At first, Leia thought the holograph had been mis-captioned. The man appeared to be Han. But then she saw the subtle differences.

There was gray at this man's temples and his nose was a little straighter. He was in a dark green jacket that had square shoulders and several gold insignia and medals. A cape of the same color was fastened to his shoulders via two gold studs and his hair was also styled differently. But he had the same smile and shape of face and his eyes gave the same suggestion of hidden intelligence and mischief that Han's did. The woman was much like herself in that she was a great deal shorter than the man and had long, dark hair. But here eyes were green and her smile was completely and utterly warm in every way possible. Leia realized Han also possessed these qualities. There was a small white bundle in her arms, from which a small arm and hand were reaching up to her, a tiny, smiling face with big honeyed-hazel eyes, staring into Leia, so it seemed, with an intensity that still remained there even today.

Baby Han and his parents.

"They loved me," he whispered.

Leia almost smiled, but then she saw Han. He was staring dejectedly at the small screen, hand extended, eyes brimming, and his expression was of such extreme sadness that Leia almost wept for him.

And then he reached forward and touched his trembling fingers to the screen, to the face of his mother, and traced it slowly. When Leia looked up at him, she saw him mouth one word although he never made a sound.

'Mama.'

She closed her hand over her mouth to prevent the sobs that welled inside of her from escaping and Luke shook his head sadly as Han continued to trace the outline of the only picture he had ever seen of his parents, touching the only link he possessed. But, when he reached the bottom of the picture, he gasped and drew his fingers away sharply, as though burned.

Leia looked fearfully at the writing at the bottom of the picture and read with growing disbelief.

'Chancellor Han Solo, his wife, Jaina, and their first and only son, Han, named for his father. It was only two years after this holograph was taken that all three are believed to have perished in the Massacre at Coronet.'

Han took a step back, breaking away from Leia and shaking his head.

"No…" he whispered, fraught. "No, it can't be…._I_ can't be…"

"Han," Leia started, but he pulled away from her again, glancing from the small screen to the larger one repeatedly.

But, no matter what he said, however he tried to deny it, and however he wished it said otherwise, the caption read what he had never dreamed and now dreaded. And it meant one thing.

Chancellor.

Chancellor Solo.

_He_ was that Chancellor's child.

With a sudden cry, he turned and fled the room.

Leia went after him.

"Han," she said, running as fast as she could, but Han was away from her before she could tell where he was going, his longer legs taking him far away from her without ever giving her chance to find him.

He did not want to be found this time.

She soon found herself lost amongst the enormous archives and found the nearest terminal.

When she reached it, she typed in the number of the row of archives she was at and discovered her location. Then she requested the location of the most recently used exit, knowing full well that they had the archives to themselves today. Then she brought up the directions to it.

When she eventually found Han, he was out on one of the balconies, sitting on the floor with his one leg through the railings and the rest of his body perched on the edge of the balcony, where hovercars would deposit their passengers. In short, he was in a very precarious position over a very long drop.

And it seemed he did not know she was there. Instead, he stared out at the busy city below and before him and let the wind whip his hair.

"H-Han," she said, fearful of his intentions.

He did not turn his head, nor did he acknowledge her. He simply stared at the city.

She sat down beside him, behind the safety of the railings and ran her finger's through his hair.

"Han?"

She brushed a bead of moisture from his cheek, only to see it replaced by another. He looked down at his knees and shook his head.

"I wanted for so long to find out about them…" he whispered. "I just wanted to know…"

She stroked his cheek softly.

"I know," she answered.

"I don't understand…How can I be the Chancellor's Child?"

She sighed and took his hand, but he did not look at her.

"Leia," he whispered, his voice breaking.

"Oh, Han," she said, drawing him close and away from the drop.

He turned to face her and pushed himself closer, burying his head in the hollow of her neck, taking fistfuls of her clothes.

"It's alright, Han, I'm here."

"All those children, Leia," he whispered, hot wetness dampening their skin. "All those children died because the Empire couldn't find me. And they only wanted to find me because of some damned stupid prophecy."

She stroked his hair and kissed his temple.

"All those children, Leia…for me…"

"No, Han," she said, gently but firmly. "No. It's not your fault."

"All because of some nonsense divination."

"But, Han," she said. "Don't you see? Without you we'd never have brought the Empire down when we did. We wouldn't have had a leader at Endor. Hell, there wouldn't have been an Endor. I'd have died on the Death Star long before Luke was ever in danger over Yavin."

He did not answer at this, but she could still feel the tears, even though he wasn't making any noise.

"Han, please, listen to me. If you've taught me anything it's that you can't blame yourself for these things."

He gasped raggedly.

"But-"

"No. Now you listen to me, Han Solo. This is not your fault. It was never your fault. In no way could it ever _be_ your fault."

He was silent for a few minutes, as though considering her words. Then he shifted a little.

"I guess I should thank you," Han whispered.

"Why?" Leia asked.

Han laughed.

"I was beginning to doubt what I told you, y'know. I read this thing about trauma and desperation in little homeless kids. They get so upset that they fabricate a family and then start believing it until they don't know what's real anymore. I thought about what I told you, about what I remembered. And I thought about it, and I thought about it, and it started to get fuzzy, you know? Like I couldn't remember it anymore. And I suddenly realized I didn't know what was real."

"Han…"

"But you've given me a gift; something I never asked for, something I never had before."

He pulled away to look at her and finally smiled when she ran her fingers over his cheek.

"You gave my life," he whispered. "And you've given me my family."


End file.
